


5 Times Parker Said "I Love You" (And 1 Time Sophie Said It Back)

by I May Age Regress (shnuffeluv)



Category: Leverage
Genre: 5+1 Things, Communication, Gen, Inspired by Fanfiction, Minor Injuries, Non-Sexual Age Play, Panic Attacks, Platonic Cuddling, alternate universe - littles are known
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 01:50:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17951348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/I%20May%20Age%20Regress
Summary: What it says on the tin. Note that the relationship here is platonic, not romantic. You can love someone platonically, too.





	5 Times Parker Said "I Love You" (And 1 Time Sophie Said It Back)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Silk Scarves and Sticky Fingers](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16296200) by [celestialskiff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialskiff/pseuds/celestialskiff). 



1.

Parker woke up suddenly in the back of the van, looking around warily. She couldn't remember where they were going, if it was going home, or if they were going to a job someplace. She hoped they were going home and they weren't going to a job. She was still very tired and wanted some time before she had to steal something. "It's okay, Parker," Sophie said softly, "We're going home, remember? We just finished a job, and you did your part wonderfully."

Smiling, Parker preened under the praise. "Of course," she said, her voice soft. "This is something I've been doing for years."

"You don't have to do that, you know," Sophie said.

"Don't have to do what?" Parker asked.

Sophie glanced around to make sure that Hardison and Elliot were busy, and Nate wasn't listening. "Pretend that you weren't a little worried. I know you were."

Parker thought back to where they had been and suddenly remembered the fact that she had been dangerously close to being shot in full technicolor. That would explain why she had passed out in the van; it was coming off an adrenaline rush. "Yeah, I guess I was a little worried," she admitted. "But you were there. I know you wouldn't let me get hurt." She hoped that Sophie could hear between the words:  _I love you._

Sophie smiled and brushed some hair out of Parker's face. "You can go back to sleep, if you need to. I won't mind."

Parker nodded and rest her head against the wall of the van, letting herself drift.

 

2.

Parker was little. She wished she weren't, not right now, because she and Sophie had been talking about plans for a vacation, and suddenly, Parker couldn't handle it. Tears sprang to her eyes and she felt like she couldn't breathe, and Sophie wrapped her arms around her. "It's okay, Parker. We don't have to decide right now," Sophie murmured. "You can think about it for a bit. It's no big deal if we go to Miami over London, too. We can go all over the world eventually, if we want."

Yeah. Parker knew this. She didn't understand why she was suddenly so upset. She just wanted someone to hold her, to tell her she was okay. She didn't want to leave home every other weekend. She had things she liked at home. She felt safe at home. Just once, she wanted to stay at home. "Wanna stay here."

"That's okay, we can plan a vacation another time," Sophie said. "If it makes you feel better, we don't even have to talk about it until you feel better, okay?"

Parker nodded.

"You can be a handful sometimes," Sophie murmured. "But I wouldn't have you any other way, I hope you know that."

"Yeah." Parker wiped at her eyes. "I like how you let me be myself." Again, in between the lines. Another  _I love you_.

Sophie just hugged her a little tighter. "Of course."

 

3.

It was in the middle of a job. Parker had come inches away from being caught, and her heart was hammering in her chest. How was she supposed to know that Littles weren't allowed on that floor? And how was she supposed to know that security could smell her from a mile away? Usually, no one was that good. And Nate hadn't said anything about the possibility of Littles not being allowed on certain floors. Served her right, she supposed. She wanted to take the easier route for once, the one that didn't require contorting into awkward positions in air vents, because apparently these people had trip wires  _everywhere_.

Her breath was coming up short even as she held the test tube close to her chest. She slipped down the stairs silently, and walked out the front door without anyone giving her a second glance. Sophie was waiting for her outside. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked.

Parker nodded even though they both knew that she was lying. Nate walked over and Parker silently passed the test tube over, and Sophie led her to the back of the car they were using. Elliot was driving, and Sophie got situated with Parker in the back. "It's okay. Let's work on your breathing first, okay?"

Parker nodded and followed Sophie's instructions on how to breathe, and slowly, her panic was dropping. As she could finally take a breath without feeling like she was gonna get sick, she could feel herself starting to feel little.

Sophie noticed this too. "It's okay if you need some time, Parker," she said softly. She offered Parker one of her pacifiers, and Parker gratefully took it.

As she sucked on it, her panic lowered more and more. When she was completely calm, she took the pacifier out of her mouth and quietly murmured, "Thank you."  _I love you_.

Sophie smiled as she wrapped an arm around Parker. "It's not a problem, Parker."

 

4.

Parker and Nate had gone head-to-head, disagreeing about a specific job and how it should be handled. Nate had gone below the belt, saying that Parker should stay in her lane, and that stealing stuffed animals was vastly different from  _adult_  work. Parker had stormed out of the office and Sophie had yelled at Nate for a bit, before heading back to the apartment, where Parker was sitting. "Nate was out of line," Sophie said by way of greeting. "Your idea was better than his, and he didn't want to admit it."

As Parker played with her stuffed bunny in her hands, she could feel tears prick at her eyes. "He listens to other people when they suggest ideas," she said. "He lets other people find jobs for him. What is it about me? Why does he hate me?"

"He doesn't hate you, Parker," Sophie said, walking over and hugging her. "If anything, I would say he's jealous. Your plans are impressive when you think them through. You could take over the job from Nate some day if you really wanted."

Parker wiped at her eyes. "You think so?"

"I do," Sophie said. "You're smart, Parker. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Parker grimaced. "You like him. Why didn't you side with him?"

"Because he was wrong," Sophie said. "And I won't blindly follow him off a cliff."

Parker smiled. "You're good like that."  _I love you_.

Sophie just laughed softly and kissed Parker's temple. "I'll stand up for you whenever you're ready to go back."

"Thank you."

 

5.

"How could you do that without telling anyone?" Sophie asked incredulously. "You almost got yourself killed!"

Parker shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Sophie bandaged her up. "I didn't think it would go downhill so fast. One little trip wire shouldn't have locked down the entire place. I'm not even sure that really  _was_  a tripwire. I think someone just got paranoid and shut the place down."

"So you decided to leave by way of the dumpster?!" Sophie pressed. "Parker, you have so many cuts and scrapes, and all of them could be infected!"

"Infected is better than dead," Parker said.

Sophie sighed. "I know. Next time, at least let  _someone_  know you're going? Even if it's just a note, even if you don't say exactly where you'll be? Because everyone was worried about you."

"Including Nate?" Parker asked skeptically. "Most days he wants nothing to do with me."

"Including Nate," Sophie insisted softly. "He's the one who figured out your most likely point of exit so you didn't wind up falling into a garbage truck with a trash compactor on accident. He's the reason we found you."

"I bet you were the first one to worry, though," Parker said. "You seem to do that a lot."

"Yeah? Well, I can't predict what you'll do next half of the time, so if I seem stressed, it's because I am," Sophie said.

Parker felt guilt gnaw at her. "I'll try to give you a heads-up, next time, okay?"  _I love you_.

Sophie was speechless for a second, before she shook her head with a small smile. "That's all I ask."

 

6.

They were cuddling, watching a movie on a rare night off. Parker was eating popcorn and Sophie was running her fingers through Parker's hair. "You're gonna make yourself sick if you eat all of that," Sophie warned.

"I'm eating it slowly," Parker defended.

"It's still an almost movie-theater sized bucket of popcorn," Sophie said. "And we both know how much food you can stomach before you get ill."

Parker pouted. "Well, you can eat some if you're so worried about me."

Sophie took a few pieces and popped them in her mouth.

"That's not enough to stop me," Parker retaliated.

Sophie rolled her eyes and shushed her. "We're about to reach the climax of the movie," she said softly, pointing to the TV screen.

They watched together as the two on screen kissed, and Parker pulled a face. "This is why I don't like romances. Too much kissing," she said.

"Yeah, well, last time we watched one of your movies, so today we're watching one of mine," Sophie said. "Simple as that."

Parker sighed and nestled into the couch further. "You know I wouldn't do this for anyone else," she muttered, her tone sullen.  _I love you_.

Sophie just laughed and kissed Parker's temple, holding her close. "I love you too, Parker."

And in that moment, Parker felt her heart soar.

**Author's Note:**

> And that, folks, wraps up all my Regressuary prompts! I hope you enjoyed reading these, as they were fun to write! This one and a few others especially, but all of them were fun prompts! If you like this story, please check out celestialskiff on here, as they wrote the series that inspired me to take my own spin on a Leverage AU! It's a really good series, and I highly recommend it (it should be in my bookmarked reccomended, in fact)! Thank you all for your continued support! See you around the tags!


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